“The Wind Blows Your Hair” / “Six Dreams”

Arguably the greatest single to be released in the year of 1967 was The Seeds’ stunning classic "The Wind Blows Your Hair" b/w "Six Dreams". It was released in October of 1967, and sadly was not a hit.

The 45 rpm single, with the catalog number GNP 398, was released by The Seeds’ label Crescendo without a picture sleeve. It came at a fraught time in the band’s career. The Future album had been released in July, a weird mix of strange psychedelia and simplistic punk rock that failed to build on The Seeds’ earlier reputation. Immediately following this single, Crescendo released a sparse blues album called A Full Spoon Of Seedy Blues, recorded a year earlier.

The band, its management, and its label were casting about wildly for success. They didn’t find it, but it isn’t the fault of this 45. "The Wind Blows Your Hair", recorded in August of 1967 and originally only appearing on this single, is my personal favorite Seeds song. The chilling descending keyboard riff by Daryl Hooper is one of rock’s best-ever hooks. The B-side, "Six Dreams", is a… well, it’s an insane choice. Recorded in May 1967, it’s the most overtly psychedelic tone poem from Future. "Six Dreams" the strangest thing The Seeds ever released. It was a real flash of mad genius to pluck it from the other contenders as the B-side.

There’s no six ways about it: This single is amazing from the first note to the last.

The Labels on “The Wind Blows Your Hair” / “Six Dreams”

The A-side and B-side of this 45 have some similarities and some odd differences. Both give the artist as THE SEEDS Lead Vocal Sky Saxon. Both give Marcus Tybalt (an alter ego of Sky Saxon) producer credit.

The A-side, the non-LP "The Wind Blows Your Hair", gets an Arranged by Saxon-Hooper credit as well. "Six Dreams" has no arranger credit, despite it obviously being a more complex arrangement. (Daryl Hooper has, by the way, in interviews stated that he was pretty much the arranger on all Seeds songs, not Sky.) In place of this line, the B-side gives information explaining that the song is taken from the Future LP. Finally, the A-side gives credit to engineer Mike Lietz; the engineer of "Six Dreams" goes unmentioned.

Other Versions of This Single

GNP Crescendo licensed this single out to other labels around the world. A Canadian version mistakenly attributes "The Wind Blows Your Hair" to Future instead of "Six Dreams". If you really want to own a Seeds obscurity, look for the New Zealand version of "The Wind Blows Your Hair" / "Six Dreams" on the Vocalion label.

Incidentally, I don’t believe this single was re-released in the 1970s on the orange GNP label; I’ve only ever seen the original 1967 red-label one.

Want to Buy Your Own Copy?

This one is rare. Even the mainstream American release of GNP 398 on Crescendo is hard to find, especially in great condition. It just didn’t sell enough, despite the (in hindsight) awesome musical qualities of both sides. Pressings from outside the United States are even rarer.

But your collection of psychedelic and/or garage rock 45s from 1967 isn’t complete without it.

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